Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Global hunger on rise, warming to blame: UN

News

• The number of hungry people in the world is growing again, in large part due to climate change that is wreaking havoc on crop production in much of the developing world, the United Nations said.

Findings

• Major UN agencies said in an annual report that the number of hungry people facing chronic food deprivation increased to 821 million in 2017 from 804 million in 2016, reversing recent downward trends.
• South America and Africa face acute food insecurity and malnutrition.
• Analysis in the report found that climate variability, extreme drought and floods are already undermining production of wheat, rice and maize in tropical and temperate regions, and that the trend is expected to worsen as temperatures increase and become more extreme.
• With hunger on the rise for the past three years, the report called for policies to target groups most vulnerable to malnutrition, including infants, children, adolescent girls and women. It called for greater efforts to promote policies that help communities build resilience.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

A novel step to spot flood-hit heritage sites

News

• Kerala Heritage Rescue Initiative, a collective of heritage experts from the State, in association with the national scientific committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) has launched a web-based platform (crowd map) to collect firsthand information on damage to tangible, intangible, movable, and immovable cultural and natural heritage.

Beyond News

• The recent floods in the State had caused extensive damage to some culturally rich sites.
• Historical buildings, archaeological sites, vernacular housing, cultural landscapes, museum collections, cultural and religious artefacts, and crafts and practices constitute the cultural and natural heritage of a place.
• Conservation experts have done their bit for creating the Crowdmap where firsthand information is available.
• Initial reporting in the Crowdmap had specified more sites in southern Kerala that require intervention and salvaging, the official said. A few sites in the northern part of the State have also been reported.
• The data collected will be analysed, and priority intervention will be made at the damaged sites. A team of conservationists will help salvage and stabilise the sites.
• Information collected from the crowdmap helps experts identify locations, assess the extent of damage, and prioritise interventions.
• The Kerala Heritage Rescue Initiative has been created for undertaking rapid damage assessment of cultural heritage sites. Experts from two international conservation agencies will be arriving in Kerala in October to give their valuable inputs to the rescue heritage initiative.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Cabinet clears new procurement policy

News

• The Centre has announced a Rs. 15,053 crore scheme to ensure that farmers growing oilseeds, pulses and copra actually get the minimum support prices (MSP) they are promised for their crops every year.

Beyond News

• The umbrella policy Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday.
• According to an official statement, it clubs together an existing procurement scheme with newly introduced options meant for oilseeds only of additional procurement by private traders or a cash payment scheme.
• Apart from the Rs. 15,053 crore to be spent over a two-year period to implement the scheme, the Cabinet approved an additional government credit guarantee of Rs. 16,550 crore for agencies undertaking procurement.
• The government announces minimum support prices for 23 crops every year. This year, these rates were set at 50% higher than the farmers’ production costs, including labour cost. The rates are meant to give remunerative prices to the farmers.
• About one-third of the harvest of the two major foodgrains, rice and wheat, are procured by the Centre at the MSP for sale in ration shops. However, most of the 21 other crops are sold at market prices, often below the MSP, as the government’s procurement operations are temporary.
• Over the last two years, the government has increased the procurement of pulses and oilseeds at MSP under the Price Support Scheme.
• In 2017-18, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India said it bought 31.9 lakh tonnes of pulses and oilseeds at the MSP, benefiting 20 lakh farmers. But the total production of pulses was estimated at 240 lakh tonnes, while oilseed production was 300 lakh tonnes.

Experts seek campaign for river protection

News

• Experts have called for a proper river management system and a campaign to protect rivers in the wake of the recent floods that devastated the Kerala State.

Beyond News

• Protecting rivers is part of a comprehensive disaster management strategy being developed for the district. But more mitigative and preventive measures need to be taken in the light of the floods witnessed.
• Kuttiyadi, Korappuzha, Kallayi, Chaliyar, Beypore, and Kadalundi are the prominent rivers in the district that have been literally abused for quite some time. At the same time, the authorities have not worked out a network of water system to provide cheap transport facility.
• There is a continuous inland water route connecting Vadakara with Ponnani which is part of the west-coast canal system connecting Thiruvananthapuram and Hosdurg. But the government has not been able to tap the potential of the backwaters of Kuttiyadipuzha in Vadakara.
• Two of the biggest issues in river management are encroachment of banks and illegal mining. Besides, there is rampant pollution of waterbodies. People have no respect for water unlike in foreign countries where rivers are considered precious.

The high cost of man-animal conflict

News

• Scientists analysed cases of compensation for crop raiding, livestock loss and human injury and death reported to the government between 2010 to 2015, find that wildlife that caused losses in 29 States included elephants that raid crop fields, tigers and leopards that preyed on cows and goats, and other species ranging from crocodiles to monkeys that cause injury and property damage. Twenty-two States compensated people for crop loss.

Findings

• While a majority of the States awarded compensation for loss of livestock, human injury and death, only 18 (62%) did so for property damage. The complete data for 18 States in 2012-2013 alone reveals that people reported a total of 78,656 cases, for which payments totalled to about ₹ 38 crore.
• Yet, even these numbers are an underestimate of the extent of conflict: many people do not report their losses, some States lack compensation policies, and the team did not have access to the five-year compensation details of 11 other States.
• When the team compared the compensation patterns in detail, they found that despite a significant mandate to address human-wildlife conflict, there exist numerous inconsistencies in eligibility, application, assessment, implementation and payment procedures across States.
• For instance, although the majority of claims countrywide were related to crop loss, seven States including Gujarat and Rajasthan still do not provide crop compensation.

New drain design to cut flooding in Chennai

News

• An area spread over 127 sq. km. in the northern parts of the city along the banks of the Kosasthalaiyar river will get new drains running to a length of 865 km., interlinking 71 lakes, and reducing water logging on 3,660 roads.

Beyond News

• According to the revised detailed project report (DPR) for the Kosasthalaiyar basin presented, the Chennai Corporation will increase the length of the proposed stormwater drains in the northern parts of the city by 13%.
• The new design of drains and canals in the revised DPR will also prevent flooding in many neighbourhoods of Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram and seven wards of Ambattur zone.
• The original length of the project was proposed to cover 765 km. of drains in the area. The revised design of the project will also increase the capacity of 71 waterbodies by 63%.
• The original design of the stormwater drains was made to withstand rainfall intensity of 68 mm. per hour.

The new design will ensure the drains handle 70 mm of rainfall an hour. The civic body has reduced the maximum width of the drains in the project from 3 metres to 2 metres.

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